Giving anti-Obamacare speeches to enrollees

Anti-Obamacare Republicans home on recess are coming face to face this week with newly insured constituents. It could be an interesting encounter.

No politician wants to sound eager to take government benefits away from voters — and while public opinion polls show the health care law is still controversial, millions of people are indeed getting assistance. Especially in states where enrollment finished strong, Republicans will need a nuanced message: Even if Obamacare helped you personally, it’s still bad for the country as a whole.

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“That’s why Sept. 30, Oct. 1 was a critical time,” said Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, who led a push for House leadership to defund the law just before sign-ups began last fall. “Now, with some people getting subsidies, it is very difficult to take that away.”

The two-week recess is the first extended break from Washington for lawmakers since the 2014 open enrollment season ended and coverage for many Americans kicked in. Many people with new plans received subsidies to make their health insurance more affordable, or they became eligible for expanded Medicaid.

It’s not that red-state representatives and senators won’t come across negative stories about the Affordable Care Act from constituents who say the law caused their plans to be canceled, forced them to change doctors or raised costs for their businesses.

It’s that other group, comprising the people being helped, that potentially poses a challenge.

In North Carolina, enrollment was higher than the national average, and 91 percent of those signing up were eligible for subsidies as of March 1. California, Florida, Idaho, Maine and Michigan also had greater rates of enrollment and subsidized coverage than elsewhere in the country. (Final state numbers, which would include the late March surge, haven’t been released.)

Republicans from those states broadly acknowledge that some of their constituents may be better off because of the ACA. But they say that many more are finding the law unworkable and emphasize that those problems are what they’re primarily hearing when they’re back home.

“I’ve never said the Obamacare law would not have some benefits to some people,” said Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. “But I have heard from countless individuals and small businesses who have seen huge premium hikes as a result of the law.”

Members are quick to repeat a litany of complaints they say constituents have, which they maintain proves the law’s negatives outweigh its positives.

“We’re talking about those outside of a narrow band of folks who have benefited from this law,” said Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina. “We’re talking about the average American who’s been harmed by it, and those are the people that are speaking today.”

Others go further, professing skepticism that people in their districts are gaining anything from the ACA.

Yet the latest Gallup poll shows that the public’s attitude could be shifting, certainly far more than the lawmakers’ comments suggest. The change is particularly sharp among Republicans. In late February, 72 percent of Republicans surveyed said the law would make their own health care situation worse in the long run. By early April, that had dropped to 51 percent, and more than 4 in 10 Republicans said the law would have a negligible impact for them.

Rep. Doug LaMalfa of California is pushing a different message. His constituents “would benefit from a policy that would focus the efforts on the uninsurable,” he said, adding, “We have plans for that.”

And Republicans realize they need to talk about those plans far more this year. While they’re still predicting another wave of problems with the health care law in 2015 — from skyrocketing premiums to issues with the employer mandate — many acknowledge that the GOP needs to present its own health care policy to voters.

House leadership hopes to build consensus around replacement legislation once members have a chance to talk to constituents during the recess.

Brian Walsh, a former spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, suggested that Republicans follow newly elected Rep. David Jolly’s lead in Florida. “Not just run against Obamacare, but about replacing Obamacare,” Walsh said.

Doing so could insulate Republicans from Democrats’ accusations that they just want to strip benefits from people. “Whatever iterations of Republican positions on this issue, there are very few [lawmakers] … who want to take everything away and leave nothing behind,” said GOP pollster Brock McCleary.

Some members are trying to peg constituents’ hopes to November, saying that if voters elect enough Republicans, the party will be able to improve the law for everyone.

“I just tell people that if we can take the Senate and the House, I sincerely believe that we can make changes within the present law,” Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina said. “Some parts will be repealed, and other parts will be changed to the betterment of the people.”